Bally’s is betting fans want more than a ringside view. The casino operator and BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing announced an expanded partnership on October 21, combining casino venues, punch-tracking technology and streaming under the Bally’s Fightnight by BKB banner. The next card lands at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi on Friday, October 23.
Former BKB lightweight champion Jarod “Kid Gatti” Grant headlines against replacement opponent Luis “Pantera” Guerrero, with coverage starting at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on Bally Sports Live and EstrellaTV’s free, ad-supported streaming channels. Tickets are available through BKB’s ticketing service. The fighters will have company inside their hand wraps: ForceIQ sensors designed to turn their punches into live data. Bally’s says the technology measures punch speed, retraction speed, punch type and G-force readings, sending the information to arena displays and the broadcast at the same time.
BKB and Bally’s
That gives fans something else to watch between the opening bell and the final scorecards. Leaderboards, heat maps, punch breakdowns and power rankings are among the system’s features, alongside predictive insights and fantasy-style scoring. The technology adds information without changing how the fights are judged. For Bally’s, the arrangement brings several parts of its business into the same ring. A subsidiary owns and operates Hard Rock Biloxi, while Bally’s supplies the technology and distribution platforms.
“We own the venue, we built the technology and we control the distribution,” Bally’s executive chairman Soo Kim said in the announcement. The plan gives the company a role in everything from hosting the crowd to delivering the numbers viewers see at home. Grant arrives with an 8-3 record and six knockouts.
His super lightweight opponent, Guerrero, is 1-1 with one knockout and steps in for Bekhzod “The Lion” Usmonov. Grant gets a chance to build his way back after holding the lightweight title; Guerrero gets a former champion across the ring. The co-main event features light heavyweight champion Cub “The Savage” Hawkins dropping to middleweight against Rowdy Montgomery. Hawkins brings a 10-1 record with nine knockouts, while Montgomery is unbeaten at 2-0. Former UFC fighters Ike Villanueva and Cody East meet at bridgerweight, and Biloxi’s former lightweight champion Monica Medina returns home against Claudia Zamora.
The remaining announced bouts pair Brandon Shavers with German Ramos, Jeff Denton with Cody Jenkins, Dillon Winemiller with Terrell Glynn, Doug Freeman with Adam Nash, Aquasha Rapley with Miranda Barber, and Devin Wallace with Jerry Dutchover. After Biloxi, the series moves to Bally’s Dover Casino Resort in Delaware on November 20.
Former WBO junior welterweight title challenger Hank Lundy faces Jairo “Almighty” Santos in a five-round welterweight main event, with both fighters making their professional bare-knuckle debuts.
